As per the TNEB online database, the electricity bills of the MGR and Anna Samadhis in Chennai's Kamarajar Salai have dues dating back from 2008 – which have still not been paid during DMK or AIADMK’s time in government.
The outstanding bills and major arrears are no small number – MGR Samadhi’s numbers run up to Rs. 1,37,04,871 and Anna Samadhi’s at Rs.71,48,885. That’s close to 2.08 crores rupees due in over 8 years. This, during the time while both Dravidian parties were in government, extolling both leaders' names.
The State government is entirely responsible for paying off these dues, which add to the losses that Tangedco faces each year. These losses in the end, are recovered from ordinary consumers by hiking electricity charges.
But this problem is not new. Tangedco has not been very strict about recovering arrears from various government departments who owe the corporation in amounts running to several lakhs, even crores of rupees. Though the corporation is incurring huge losses, it still extends largesse and lets government departments remain defaulters.
As of November 2015, in an RTI application filed with Tangedco, the outstanding bills of various government departments amounted to Rs. 93.79 crore. The various government departments, including local bodies in Chennai alone owed Rs. 37.83 crore. The other top five districts which had outstanding bills were Kancheepuram Rs. 7.38 crore, Chengalpet Rs. 6.16 crore, Cuddalore Rs. 3.35 crore and Nagapattinam Rs. 2.61 crore.
Many government departments like health, education, civic bodies and water supply which provide essential services, regularly run up arrears. But in a report in The Hindu, an official from Tangedco had said that they could not disconnect electricity services for government departments that had defaulted regularly as it would ultimately affect the public.
TNEB officials were reached for comment, and while they had agreed that the dues were unpaid, the buck was passed on when asked whether this non-payment of massive dues that led to losses for Tangedco year after year, would affect consumers.